


Protein

by Welfycat



Category: Firefly
Genre: Community: mundane_bingo, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-11-28
Updated: 2010-11-28
Packaged: 2017-10-13 10:44:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/136452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Welfycat/pseuds/Welfycat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Simon tries to figure out what to do next.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Protein

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Mundane Bingo. Prompt: you're hungry but you don't seem to want anything specific

Simon stood in the galley of Serenity, his eyes skittering helplessly from the little flowers and vines that someone, undoubtably Kaylee, had painted down the pillars to the worn cupboards and cluttered countertops. He'd been driven from his room, restless with hunger and missing having his feet on the solid ground. He had checked on River, watched her shift in her sleep with her long hair tangling under her head. When she didn't wake, he'd continued on, wandering the ship until he found himself standing still; his stomach empty and his mind cluttered.

He knelt down next to one of the cupboards and dug through, his eyes glazing over as he flipped through package after package of protein, only taking note of the flavors every couple of packages. His stomach growled and he shut the cupboard and leaned against it.

Somehow, he'd thought that rescuing River and getting safely away would have been the hardest part. All the time he'd spent finding her and figuring out how to get her out and off the planet, all that research and planning, that should have been the worst of it. Instead, trapped alone on this ship with River always a moment away from having a fit or lashing out, with so much of her personality just gone… He had never imagined this part.

Not even half-heartedly, Simon used his boot to nudge the cupboard across from him. There was some canned food in there, processed until it could hardly be recognized, but not made of protein powder. He thought about it, wondering if he ate some of it maybe he'd be able to sleep and his stomach would stop aching emptily. He knew that he wouldn't though, not just because they used those cans when they had group meals. Even a meal that wasn't made out of flavored protein wasn't at all attractive to him.

He thought of home; of bau and shui jiao dumplings. His mother would bring him siu maai and puer tea; she'd sit with him at one of the low tables and ask quietly about his day and his studies before disappearing to bring River something as well. Remembering home cooked meals should have made him hungrier, should have made him long for something that was warm and real, but it didn't. He'd rather be on Serenity, hungry, lonely, and with his sister than back on Osiris without her.

A foil package dropped down into his lap and Simon looked up to find the Captain staring down at him.

"Energy bar; good for you. You get too skinny and you're not going to be much of a doctor," Mal said. He leaned against the counter, focused on the energy bar in his own hands.

Simon watched as Mal peeled down the wrapper, it crinkling in his hands. The energy bar, yet another form of flavored protein, still didn't look terribly appetizing. Mal ate with the efficiency of a soldier, remaining standing while Simon sat on the floor, the entire scene colored with a sense of the surreal. Simon wondered if he needed to get more sleep.

"Eat, Doc," Mal said. He walked out of the galley, tossing the wrapper in the trash chute without a backwards glance.

Simon picked up the energy bar and picked at the edges of the foil before carefully opening it along the edge, just like opening a wrapped present. He sniffed it before taking a small bite, the act of chewing and swallowing seeming to take an eternity. Finishing the energy bar took a long time as he sat on the floor, Serenity moving with small sounds all around him. He got up, suddenly exhausted, but not hungry anymore. Stumbling over his own feet, he left the galley, his fingertips running across the bumps of paint that Kaylee had left behind on the doorframe.

**Author's Note:**

> This work and others can also be found on my Dreamwidth account: [Protein](http://welfycat.dreamwidth.org/5601.html)


End file.
